Scots and French MoU strengthens low-carbon energy collaboration

Scotland and France are set to strengthen collaboration on low-carbon energy development.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between Scotland’s floating wind cluster DeepWind and Wind’Occ, the regional offshore wind collaborative in the Région Occitanie.

The MoU between the two organisations will see both parties collaborate on floating offshore wind and hydrogen supply chain development in Scotland, Région Occitanie and internationally.

DeepWind is an industry-led cluster, initiated in 2019 by HIE in partnership with Scottish Enterprise with offshore wind developer Ocean Winds as the industry champion. It has more than 700 members from industry, academia and the public sector.

Paul O’Brien, HIE’s DeepWind cluster manager said:

“We very much welcome the opportunity that this cooperation agreement with Wind’Occ opens up between Scotland and France to work towards a common goal in the areas of floating wind and hydrogen generation.

“The marriage of these two technologies will be one of the major decarbonisation routes for Europe and this MoU strengthens the already strong ties between the members of both clusters.”

Wind'Occ is a similar organisation to DeepWind. It promotes the floating offshore wind industry in the Occitanie region of southern France. 

As part of the partnership, both clusters have agreed to champion floating offshore wind in their respective countries as well as jointly when the opportunity arises by:

• Encouraging and facilitate the exchange of knowledge between their members
• Promoting business opportunities for their members through ‘Meet the Buyer’ industry events
• Facilitating the emergence of a local floating wind and hydrogen industry by identifying complementary capabilities
• Promoting R&D opportunities at a local and European level

The agreement was signed today (16 May) at the Floating Offshore Wind Turbines (FOWT) 2022 event in Montpellier.

It was witnessed by Scottish Government Trade Minister Ivan McKee, who said:

“Development of offshore wind, the hydrogen economy and a strong and innovative supply chain are key to Scotland’s transition to net zero and will support our green economic recovery.

“This agreement is a great example of two organisations constructively working together to further mutual economic interests, including those shared by the Scottish Government. As set out in our National Strategy for Economic Transformation, we want to be a dynamic and innovative country, where we can attract international investment in research and the industries of the future, which will help us achieve our climate targets.”

Carole Delga, President of the Occitanie/ Pyrénées-Méditerranée Region, said:

“Today, floating offshore wind energy is a sector with great potential, both in terms of energy and trade.

“France, like Scotland, is strongly committed to the development of floating offshore wind energy with 50 GW announced for 2050. In Occitania, we have been working for several years now to develop this sector of the future. It is currently a major axis of industrial development in our region and one of the essential means to increase the share of renewable energies in our over energy production.

“The partnership signed today between the Wind'Occ and DeepWind clusters will strengthen the complementarity between our respective sectors and will contribute to their joint development. It will also be an additional asset to ensure greater visibility of our wind industry on a European and international scale, which is essential to guarantee the sustainability and development of the sector.”

ENDS